(Source: USAO NY) Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General (“HUD-OIG”), announced the unsealing of a Complaint against the property manager, CARL IMMICH, for engaging in fraudulent schemes to embezzle funds from Harriet Tubman Terrace Apartments (“Tubman Terrace”), a Section 8 housing complex in Poughkeepsie, New York.  IMMICH was arrested today and presented in White Plains federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy.  As alleged, IMMICH fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to Tubman Terrace.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Carl Immich stole federal taxpayer dollars intended to subsidize housing costs for lower income individuals.  I commend the work of HUD-OIG in safeguarding the people’s money and policing those who seek to pocket it for themselves.”

HUD-OIG Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi said: “The arrest and charges today of Carl Immich serve to remind the taxpayer that law enforcement will continue to pursue corruption, in all forms, especially those that impact the integrity of HUD-assisted housing. Mr.  Immich’s charges disclosed today prove our continuing resolve to root out crime in all forms, especially when the funds involved should have been used to help the neediest families.”

According to the allegations in the criminal complaint (the “Complaint”) unsealed today in White Plains federal court[1]:

Tubman Terrace is a large low-income apartment complex in Poughkeepsie, New York.  The rental payments for nearly all of the apartments are subsidized by HUD pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, 42 U.S.C. § 1437f.  From in or about June 2010 through in or about November 2014, HUD provided approximately $150,000 to $160,000 each month to Tubman Terrace.

Since in or about 2009, Tubman Terrace has been managed by a management company, of which IMMICH is the principal and sole owner.  In that capacity, IMMICH has served as the management agent and property manager of Tubman Terrace since in or about 2009.

From at least in or about December 2010 until at least in or about March 2015, IMMICH fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to Tubman Terrace, which were paid to him or used for personal expenditures.  IMMICH did so through at least three different schemes: (1) he used credit cards intended for Tubman Terrace business expenses for personal expenses, which were then paid through Tubman Terrace’s operating bank account; (2) he obtained check payments from the Tubman Terrace operating bank account to cover other personal expenses; and (3) he obtained payroll checks for himself and his daughter reflecting no work or other entitlement by them to such salary.

IMMICH, 53, of Rhinebeck, New York, is charged with one count of embezzling government property, and one count of theft of property from programs receiving government funds, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the judge will determine any sentence imposed on the defendant.       

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of HUD-OIG.           

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Schorr and Benjamin Allee are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.